of chicago



Feb 15J A. CAMPBELL DUMP DOOR SHAFT OPERATING MEANS Filed Aug. 7. 1925 'INVENoR ARGYLE CA MP5 ELL BY www ///s ATTORNEY( lll Patented Feb. 15, 19.27.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARGYLE CAMPBELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO ENTERPRISE RAILWAY EQUIPMENT COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

DUMP-DOOR SHAFT-OPERATING MEANS.

Application led August 7, 1925.

v My invention relates to improvements in dump door shaft operating means.

One object of my invention is to provide rotating means for shafts used in raising and lowering dumping doors of railway cars and the like, which will be movable in various planes whereby certain portions of said rotating means may be moved out of the path of obstacles or to secure greater convenience to the operator.

A second object of my invention is to pro- `vide shaft rotating means having a jointed portion movable to an operative position to secure continuous rotary movement or which may be folded and locked in an inoperative position.

A specific object of my invention is to provide shaft rotating means with a socket portion hingedly mounted for sidewise movement whereby an operator may conveniently operate said shaft from various locations.

My invention furthermore resides in certain other features of design and construction of parts such as will be more fully pointed out hereinafter and claimed.

Referring to the drawing, Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view taken through the -l'ower portion of a ballast car having an operating shaft provided at either end thereof with my improvements. Figure 2 is a fractional elevational view of the side of the car showing only so much as will illustrate the end view of the mechanism illustrated in Figure 1. Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the shaft rotating means in assembly relation with the ratchet wheel. Figure 4 is another view of the assembled mechanism shown in Fig. 3. Figure 5 is a perspective view of one of the oscillatable plates as viewed from the inner side thereof. And Figure G is a perspective view of the oscillatable plate which forms the companion member to that shown in Fig. 5, the part being viewed from the inner side thereof.

Referring to Figs. land 2, I have shown my improvements as applied to a car of the ballast type in which -10 denote the side walls of the car, 11-11 the center sills of the car, 1Q-12 hoppers en either side thereof having inner and outer doors shown as 13 Serial No. 48,798.

and 14.- respectively. F or purpose of illustrating the application of my improvements, I have shown the door operating arrangement. only in connection with the inner doors 13, but it will be understood that the same is also applicable to the operating mechanism for the outer doors. Said inner doors 13 are operated by means of a longitudinally extending shaft 15 disposed between the respective center sills 11-11, connection between the shaft and the respective doors being effected by means of flexible connections 15 which extend over sheaves 16. Rotation of the shaft 15 is effected through the medium of a cross-shaft 17 and worm and gearing 'connecting said shaft 17 with the longitudt nal shaft 15, said worm and gearing being disposed within a housing 18. The shaft 17 is extended to the respective sides of the car and each end thereof mounted in a bearing 19 carried by a depending gusset plate 20 which is spaced inwardly somewhat from the side of the car. Outwardly of the plate there is disposed on each end of the shaft 17, locking ratchet `-21 with which is co-operable a locking pawl 22, the pawls at the corresponding ends of the shaft being operable in unison by means of a transverse shaft 23 to which the respective pawls are attached.

Shaft rotating means for the operating shaft 17 are disposed on each end of the shaft, and as the mechanism is the same on each end of the shaft, the description will be confined to only one of such mechanisms. Said mechanism broadly includes: a ratchet wheel A; oscillatable means on each side of the ratchet wheel including an inner plate B and an outer plate C; an extension D pivoted to the oscillatable means; and a pawl E carried by t-he oscillatable means and adapted to engage the ratchet wheel to rotate the same in either direction.

Said ratchet wheel A includes a toothed portion 24 having circular hub portions on either side thereof a's indicated at 25 and 9.6 respectively. One of said hub portions is extended inwardly and formed with a plurality of grooves 27-27, whereby the latch wheel 21 may be nonrotatably mounted thereon. Said ratchet wheel member A is formed with a non-circular opening 25 cor responding to the formation of the shaft on which it. is mounted and is thereby fiXedly mounted on the shaft.

The plates` B and C' are respectively mounted" ontlie hub portions on the respe'c` tive sides of the toothed portion 24 and are spaced apart by means of bosses 28-28 which are preferably formed integralV with' one of said plates as' ii'idicate'd in Figure 5. Said plates B anc C are also each formed with an integral flange 29, disposed' at anangle to the main plane of the wall and out-` standing therefrom so that when the said members B and are in operative relation, said flanges 29e-2 9 present a jaw-like effect, said flanges 29-29 on thel respective members being spaced' apart by a boss 30 formed integrally on one of said members as indicated in 5. The bosses 23 and 30 on the mem`- ber lare eaclr formed with a perforation 3l adapted tonregister with correspondingper-y forations 32 formed on the memberOand through whichvv securing means in the form of rivets orbolts 33 extend.

`The p awl E pivotally mounted onione of the,n bosses 28 and the extension Di isl pivotally mounted on the boss 30. Said member D has a body portion formed with a socket 34 and adjacent thejjend thereof there is an outstanding ,handhol'e 35 providing` a crank-like effect, said socket portion 34-1 beingl adapted to accommodate a: removable bar or to'ol 36 as indicated in Figure3 Referring to Figure 3, it will be njoted that the member Dhaving the hand-hold 35 thereon swin-gable about the pivot 33 in an are as indicated at 37, that is, inwardly and outwardly with respect to the plane of theggusse't plate' 2O and plane of the side wall, 10. Correspondingly, the outer end of the bar 36 will Swing in an arc as indicated at 33. lith this arrangement, therefore, the operator, when called upon' to manipulate the shaft by hand, for instance, when moving the Vdoors to closed position, may stand opposite the end of the shaft and readislf swi'nCr the member D bi O'rasiino' the handheld 3o in a circle of comparatively shorti'adiiis, and in so doin/g, is enabled to' readily clear the overshangln-g, portions of theside structure of the car.- `When not in use, the extension D may be positioned bei` neath the side wall of the car, as indicated in Figlrre 2, and retained in definite inoperative position by slipping the linlr 39 over the handhold 35, the link 39 being carried by a 'guide ell), Hln this position, as clearly indicated in Figure' 2,' the `pa-wl E will assume a position below the shaft and will automatically drop; to an inoperative position under the .influence of gravity. The 'arrangement Vat both ends of the' shaft being the same, it is evident that, in this time.

temeva manner, the shaft may be operated from either end without interference with the ratcheting mechanism at the other end.

es is well known to those skilled in the art, in the use of ballast cars, it is a common practice for the ballast to be deposited along the road-bed by moving the car at slow speed, say at 3 or l miles per hour, the operator walking along the side ofthe road'- bed: of the cai| in' order to adjiist the door opening for the discharge, from time to time, as may be necessary to insure even deposit of the ballast. The road-bed, under ordinary conditions, and particularly during the ballasting, is generally very uneven, thus necessitating the operator following an une-ven ypath in afccompanyingy the movements of the car., l/Yith myvarrangef ment of pivoted extension D, with the bar 36 applied thereto, theI operator can readily accommodatehimself to the necessary deviations while walking without; releasing his hold upon bar 3G, and without assuming awkward positions, while being always able to readilymanipulate the ratcheting mechanism to effect adjustment Vof the doors as; maybe ynecessary from time to From the foregoing, it will be seen that my arrangement affords great convenience to the operator, particularly in connection with ballasting, as well as in other cases; and a very compact arrangement for the operating and loclring mechanism of the shaft is provided for withont interference with the side wall or adjacent parts,

and without increasing the overall width of the: car or its operating. mechanism,

I have herein shown and described what l now consider the preferred manner of carrying out my invention, but the same is merely illustrative and I .contemplate all changes and modiiications that come within these/ope of the `claims appended hereto.

I claim :-r A

l. In a. car vdoor shaft operating means, lever `n'reans for operating said shaft and including a crank by which said lever means may be operated, saidlever means having a hinged joint intermediate the axis of the shaft andl the crank whereby said crank may have movement at an angle to the plane of rotation of said shaft.

2. ln, a car door shaft rotating means, a lever for operating said shaft, said level' having; a jointed portionA formed with a handheld and socket adj:v1cent one end thereof, said jointed portion being movable at an anglevto a plane perpendiciiilar to the axis of rotation of the shaft.

3. In a 4ear door ope ating shaft rotating means, the 4combination withv a rat-Chet wheel; of. a plate on eithenside thereof, each of said plates havinga flange disposed at an ang-leto the inafiiji body of the wheel,4 said flanges, when the Fplates are in operative re llS lation on the ratchet wheel, being spaced apart by a boss formed integrally with one of said flanges; and a lever member pivotally mounted upon said boss in such a manner as to move in unison with the aforesaid plates in the plane of rotation of the shaft and being movable in planes extending lengthwise of the shaft, through the medium of said pivot.

et. In a railway car, the combination with the side wall of the car; of an operating shaft extending beneath the same; a ratchet wheel fixedly mounted upon the shaft; oscillating means associated with said ratchet wheel for rotation in the plane of rotation thereof; a pawl associated with said oscillatable means, said pawl being engageable with the ratchet for rotating the same in either direction, said ratchet wheel and oscillatable means being disposed in the plane of the side wall of the car; and a lever pivotally mounted upon said oscillatable means whereby the said lever may be deflected sidewise to clear the side wall of the car and complete revolution imparted to said shaft.

5. In a car fcloor operating mechanism adapted to be operated from opposite sides of the car, the combination with a shaft extending transversely of the car; shaft rotating means on each end thereof, each said means including a ratchet wheel fixedly united with the shaft; a lever member associated with each ratchet wheel and oscillatable with respect to the said ratchet wheel; a pawl associated with each lever and adapted to engage with its corresponding ratchet wheel for rotation of the same in either direction; means for securing the lever members in al definite position and against rotation, each said lever member, when so secured, being adapted to have its associated pawl disengaged from its ratchet wheel thereby permitting operation of the shaft from either` end thereof without interference from the opposite end.

6. In a car door operating shaft rotating means; a ratchet wheel fixedly mounted upon the shaft; means oscillatably mounted with respect to said ratchet wheel, said oscillatable means being formed with a hinged portion adapted to receive a removable acuating tool; and a pawl carried by said oscillatable means, said pawl being engageable with the ratchet.

7. In a car door shaft operating means, the combination with a ratchet. wheel fixed upon the shaft; ofva plate disposed on each side of said wheel, said plates being oscillatably mounted relatively to the shaft; a pawl pivotally mounted between said plates," said pawl being adapted to have operative engagement with the ratchet wheel in either direction; and a socket member oscillatably mounted with respect to said plates.

S. In a dump door operating mechanism, the combination with a ratchet wheel; of a member mounted for rotative movement relative to the ratchet wheel; a pawl pivotally mounted on said member .for engagement with the ratchet wheel; and an extension hingedly mounted upon said rotatable member, said extension having a. socket formed therein adapted to receive a removable actuating tool.

9. In a dump door operating shaft rotating means, the combination with a toothed member xedly united to the shaft; of an oscillatable member mounted adjacent the said toothed member; a pawl pivotally mounted on said oscillatable member and adapted to have operative engagement with the toothed member in either direction; a socket member pivotally mounted upon said oscillatable member, said socket member being movable in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of movement of the first named oscillatable member'.

10. In a dump car, the combination with an operating shaft extending transversely of the car and having its ends terminating at the sides of the car; of means, at each end of said shaft, for effecting step by step rotation thereof, each of said means including a ratchet wheel, an operating member,A

and a pawl carried by said operating member eo-operable with the ratchet wheel; means operable from each side of the car for locking said shaft and releasing it; and means, at each side of the car. for retaining the respective adjacent operating member in a predetermined position and in which position the corresponding pawl is inoperative with respect to the corresponding ratchet wheel whereby said shaft may be operated or released from either side of the car.

11. In a dump car having side walls, the combination with an operating shaft extended transversely of the car and having an end thereof terminating at the side of the car at. a point substantially beneath said side wall; of means, associated with said end of the shaft, for effecting rotation of said shaft, said megans including, an element rigid with the shaft and rotatable therewith. and devices bodily oscillatable with respect to said shaft and one part of which is restricted to such oscillation in a plane slibstantially in line with the plane of said side wall and another part of which is movably mounted with said first named part inwardly and outwardly with respect to said plane of said side wall, whereby the outer end of said second named part may be manufactured in various positions inwardly and out-wardly with respect to said plane of the side wall and clear the latter during such manipulation.

l2. In a dump car having a wall, the comllU bimfzntion Wi-)UIT am opelfating slm-ft having an endv thereof terminating approximately m line with, but below said Wall; of means' for effecting step by step rotation of said shaft,- incha'ding an operatiig lever element adjistaible inwardly zmdf outwardly with respeci; to the plane of sai-df side Well, whereby the power may be' applied at points oui:- Wardlfy from the Wall sind rotation of the shaft effected'. 10

In' Witness that I @faim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name' this 3rd d'ziy' of August 1925.

ARGYLE CAMPBELL. 

